The Washington state 1A football state final saw two teams both vying for their first ever state championship. The Freeman Scotties had made one trip to the championship game back in 2004, and this was the Mount Baker Mountaineers first ever trip to the finals.

Freeman started the game about as well as you can, with Marcus Goldbach returning the opening kickoff 85 yards for a score. Mount Baker responded with an eight minute touchdown drive of their own, capped by a 1 yard run from Liam Short. Their PAT was missed, and Freeman took a 7-6 lead into the second quarter.

Both teams put together scoring drives early in the second quarter, with Mount Baker blocking the point after from Freeman’s second score to keep the game tied at 13.

The Scotties were at it again after Mount Baker’s score. A five play 84 yard drive finished by a 2 yard run from Max Laib, his second on the day, gave Freeman a 19-13 lead that they rode into halftime after another missed PAT.

Mount Baker received the second half kickoff and was forced to punt the ball back to the Scotties. Freeman made great use of their possession again, compiling a 10 play 91 yard drive ending in another Marcus Goldbach touchdown, taking the lead 25-13. Mount Baker drove into the red zone on their next possession, but Freeman held strong on a fourth down and took the ball back on downs.

Goldbach struck again early in the fourth, this time from four yards out, gathering his third touchdown of the day. His score put the game effectively out of reach, with the Scotties ahead 31-13. Neither team was able to break free from the other’s defense, and the Scotties captured their first state title with a 31-13 win over Mount Baker!

The first Saturday game in the Tacoma Dome hosted the one loss Mount Baker Mountaineers against the undefeated Cascade Christian Cougars for a trip to the 1A state finals on December 7th. The first half saw back and forth action, with Mount Baker capitalizing on two fumbles by the Cougars and turning those into 14 points.

Mount Baker looked to be the more aggressive and energetic side early on, but Cascade Christian stuck to their game plan and continued to execute on deep passing plays to keep the game within a touchdown after the first half. Mount Baker led 21-14 at halftime on the back of two rushing touchdowns from Izaiha Shwinde.

Defense was seemingly the focal point for both coaches at half because the defenses on both sides heated up in the third quarter. No score from either team allowed Mount Baker to hold their seven point lead going into the fourth.

The Mountaineers struck early in the fourth quarter on another Shwinde run, his third of the contest, to take a comfortable 28-14 lead with just under 11:30 to play in the contest. But Cascade Christian wasn’t done yet; on their heels and needing a score, quarterback Jaelin Goldsmith rushed five yards up the middle for his second rushing touchdown on the day, putting his team within one score of the Mountaineers.

The Cougar defense held strong and forced a punt from Mount Baker, getting the ball back with 89 yards to go and just under six minutes to play. Cascade Christian put together a spectacular drive, marching all 89 yards and scoring on a Hunter Austin 5 yard run to tie the contest with 1:39 remaining, and ultimately sending the game to overtime.

Cascade Christian got the ball first in the extra frame but could not crack the stingy Mount Baker defense who forced a turnover on downs. Mount Baker started their possession from the 25 yard line, needing any score to win the game. After a big 11 yard Andrew Zender rush on their first play, Mount Baker was in field goal range. After three downs that resulted in no gain, Alex Tyska stepped up for a 28 yard field goal and smashed it through the uprights for the win. Mount Baker will now play in the Washington state 1A final on Saturday, December 7th.